Giving the 1911 Another Chance?

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Hi Skunky,

Why not consider an older, used Series 70 or earlier Colt LW Commander or the steel Combat Commander in 45ACP. This gal has the LW Cmdr fitted out with low mount BoMar sights, extended safety and smoothed out action and I just love it. Fits my hands perfectly (and I'm no two-ton Tessie either) and I can shoot it both fast and accurately.

Best idea is go to the range and see if some of the folks there will let you shoot their 45's. Try a wide range and see which suits you best.

Just an idea. Best to you in your search.

Carla
 
Tamara Sez...

I've so enjoyed my Professional that I've about decided to round up some other examples of the genre, like maybe a TRS or CQB...
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I think you should look into getting a 1911 in 10mm. I know there are a couple of Baer models you can get in 10mm Auto, and I think Ed Brown's Class A Limited is available in 10mm too. 10mm and the 1911... two great things that go great together. :cool:

Or you could have a pistolsmith make something like THIS for you... you know you want it. :D

delta_left.jpg


:evil:
 
Skunk,

You can always ship the CQB back for refinishing to gray, although you can do the same refinishing yourself using Brownells spray-on polymer coating.

Here's another suggestion, get a SA milspec (~$500) and shoot that, then you can can use it as a platform for truly personalized customizing.
 
Down boys....


I figure i'll be putting a couple bucks into it either way if I buy it new the way I want (Wilson) or get a Mil-Spec and having it done up...still have to flip a coin.

Having the Wilson redone gray will cost me $30 shipping and $150 for the job. :cuss: I know that gray finish will be ultratactical because I can't have it in Cali!!
 
Should I get another all-steel 1911, one of high quality, like a Wilson CQB, or a Kimber Custom and swap out the crappy parts, and give the 1911 yet another shot?
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Looks like everyone assumed that it was a foregone conclusion that you _would_ want a high end 1911.

Of course, if you didn't want one, then nobody would be able to pimp their favorite 1911 on you:D

I get the impression that your odds of getting a carry permit in some place like LA are going to be pretty slim. And if you did carry, you'd probably want something a little smaller and lighter than the government model. A 1911 is a big, comforting hunk-o-steel, but I wouldn't want to carry one IWB all the time (or even part of the time).

If I were blowing the sort of money you're talking about, I'd pick up a decent officer sized, alloy framed 1911, sell the top end, and have a smith fit a new caspian commander length slide and barrel on it. Its the hard way to get a Colt CCO/Wilson Stinger, but you'll have the 1911 that is very carry friendly, and built to your own specs. You can make it as tactical as your heart desires.

And really, when you're dropping that sort of money, wouldn't you _really_ rather have Skunkabilly's notion of perfection in a 1911, rather than Wilson's or Baer's notion of perfection?

Steve
 
Buy the Smith and Wesson 1911 rip out the FP safety and buy a couple of more mags. Be happy.
The Smith is Ultra tactical bead blasted stainless with SUPER tactical Novak sights. Great accuracy and reliabitly in mine. Plus they come with SUPER DUPER tactical Wilson Tactical Combat Tactical Mags.*

Can you tell I really like my Smith 1911?

*I am pretty sure this is a direct quote from Wilson's catalog.:D
 
Well The Wilson CQB comes pretty close to my ideal 1911, save for the front cocking serrations. Handy but ugly. They're not too bad and I'll take them but if I had a choice I wouldn't have them.

Second are the sights. The slide is going to Trijicon or someone to put the Novaks on for me.

Third are carbon fiber grips, but that's a quick fix, and I do like the Wilson gray grips.

I'd need to have the gun refinished in gray. So much more tacticaller than green because I can't have it in CA.

I'll do the math and see how much it costs to have a Colt done up to a CQB so I can still have the horsey factor.

If I had a dollar for everytime Wilson used TACTICAL for everything in their catalog...I'd HAVE everything in their catalog!! :D
 
You can have the front cocking serrations cut off, you know. It looks very nice.

131.jpg

Note the carbon fiber grips. :)

You could also have the Wilson sights modified... I think the back of these sights were serrated to give a more Heinie-style sight picture.

ada.sized.jpg


I'd guess the all-in price between a CQB (nearly $2,000) and modifying a Colt to your specs would probably be about the same, especially since you are already talking about modifying the CQB anyway. But if the CQB is most of what you want anyway, you might as well get it. For Novaks I'd suggest sending it to... Novak's. :p

http://www.novaksights.com/

For a gray finish, flat Hard Chrome is going to be alot better than Armor-Scuff, but of course will be somewhat brighter in color even if the steel is bead-blasted.

Note that Heinies seem to take a beating in my experience better than Novaks though. Does that make them "more tactical"? :D
 
You're new here, aren't you?
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:D I'm afraid so. And the area I'm in doesn't have many women that like guns, though I try very hard to introduce them to the shooting sports. Been successful with a few but very few.:( I love to see women take an interest in guns and the RKBA.
 
Steve...very nice very nice!!

Are those yours???

I'd like to keep most of the work with Wilson if I'm getting their gun. I wonder if they can cut off the front cocking things.
 
Sven, Skunky, since I am about halfway between the two of you, drop me a note and cruise on by...we have decent indoor and outdoor ranges in the Central Valley.

I have a few Colts that shoot so pretty they will make you cry.:p

Don't know if I'll have my Lightweight 9mm Commander running in the next couple weeks, but I can certainly let you shoot a spooky-accurate 10mm Delta, a Gold Cup that's worthy of the name, a Springfield with .38 Super and 9x23 barrels, a Defender, and a new Colt GM that's as good or better than anything out of Kimber.

You might even get to shoot what you refer to as a "revolver thingy".:D
 
Skunkabilly,
I think you got me and Sean Smith mixed up because we're both recommending custom 1911's.

Those fine 1911's were posted by Sean. I don't know if those are his though - I remember he sold off his cherished S&W 610 and Colt Delta Elite 10mm a few months back, and seems to be working on a custom Colt Delta Elite v 2.0

My own 1911 is just a humble Springfield. But I've decided that if I'm going to own a 1911, I'm going to own a mouth watering one - so the SA is not long for the world in it's current form.

Steve
 
Skunkabilly... Owning over a dozen 1911's, I sure do appreciate these things! And I've learned that there are lots of really nice 1911's to have. And you don't have to buy a super-premium gun to get ultra-reliability. My most recent is an Ed Brown Class A Bobtail Commander... a superb gun, but one which will also set you back quite a bit of green. Definitely don't overlook the new Colts. Just as nice, in it's own way, and a much better buy would be a new-issue Colt Series 70 like one of mine:

Colt Series 70 - new production/re-issue
Colt2937.jpg


These awesome guns can be had for around $795. This pistol is every bit as reliable right out-of-the-box as any super-premium 1911, possibly more so! Colt doesn't have to include a note telling you what ammo might not be reliable in this gun...(like Wilson does). This Colt will digest whatever you want to feed it. And it's nearly as accurate as a premium priced 1911. Shoot them just as is for a great experience or, if you're so inclined, buy one and send it off to Ted Yost, Jim Garthwaite, Chuck Rogers, Don Williams, or Larry Vickers for some really special fine tuning by a master 1911 pistolsmith. Either way (I'm doing both, keeping a box-stock version and sending another off for customization) you'll have a superb gun.

Other great guns would include the Ed Browns, then the Les Baers, then, I suppose, the Wilson. For some reason, though, from what I can determine, Wilson's just ain't all that wonderful for the huge bucks they charge! And what's with their disclaimer that their guns should run right with certain name brands of ammo and not with other name brands? My Colts will run all day on any ammo I care to feed them. To me the Wilsons seem like little more than Kimbers with a little extra fluff. And they sure seem overpriced. But, I suppose, they're still a pretty decent gun if you don't mind spending more money than they might really be worth. Just one guy's opinion, that's all. And, hey, the Springfield TRP is a dang nice 1911 for around $1100!!! Not a super bargain, but possibly as good as some brand name models selling for $1600-$1900. :eek:
 
Man, right when I thought I was off the 1911 boat...(again :rolleyes:) that Dawson 1911 looks tacticaliciously advantageous!!!

:rolleyes:

I am fickle. Sorry :eek:
 
If the trigger on a fine 1911 isn't enough to make you throw your USP in the river, then don't bother. Just one man's opinion, but the 1911 is all about the trigger. If you don't need or want a trigger that good, there's no point in forcing yourself to own one.
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Monster hit it right on the head, at least for me.

I couldn't justify getting a gun that I'd potentially have to "make" good, or that has seen far more changes and upgrades in its entire history than any other gun. That's not to say 1911s are inferior, of course; they're probably the most refined gun on the entire market thanks to the constant and fullhearted attention to design improvement.

Regardless, a 1911 didn't suit me; I wanted an SA/DA, double-stack magazine handgun, and the 1911 just didn't cater to me in those regards, and I didn't see any further purpose in trying to justify a gun in my collection just on the basis that everyone else owns one.

Until the day I DO get a good 1911 (and that day will come), I'll continue to slog through my crappy mushy duty gun triggers and DA revolvers until one day my trigger control is good enough to let me make ransom-like groupings (not bloody likely :D)
 
Revisiting this thread has me re-evaluating whether or not I should just get one...again. :banghead:

Oh & by the way, those pics aren't helping any!
 
Maybe what you need is something a bit more modern. Might I suggest and STI or SV. I find the wide grips make it easier to manipulate the controls.

and STI has a tatical model :)

TacBlueLeft1.jpg
 
Aw cr#p! My oldest just plunked down the cash for the Kimber Custom blued, night sighted, LAPD SWAT whatever lettered full sized 1911. I refuse to touch it. I'm DEWATing my POS AMT because I'm too embarrassed to shoot it at the range now. I keep telling him 1911s are too easy to shoot well and REAL shooters master the Glock trigger. I may have to come up with some sort of 1911 in 10mm just to save face.
 
Skunk,
I hated the 1911 for years. Well guess what??? I just got a 1911!! It's what almost everyone here would call a "cheapie". I paid $250 for it used. It's an Israeli made Colt Government clone. But, it has all the bells and whistles, and this weekend I'm gunna put another 50 rounds for a total of 200 through it. It has not jammed or failed to feed on anything I've fed it so far, including Hydro Shoks or Golden Sabers. A 1911 does not have to be a Rolls or a Lexus to function well. Give it another chance!! :D
 
Weird thread.

Skunkabilly, the worst two guns I ever owned for reliability were a HK USP Compact, and a Beretta 92. I did not even bother to return them to the factory, I got a refund.

The best guns I ever owned for reliability have been my Colt's Combat Commander, and my Springfield 1911-A1.

Point here, is no single example of a hand gun speaks for the whole production run. Nothing mechanical is perfect.
 
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